


The Brains of Others

by koalathebear



Category: iZombie (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 01:35:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6065749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one knows more than Ravi, the toll being a zombie takes on Liv.  The bodies of the people who come to the officer of the medical examiner are frequently victims of unspeakable crimes or horrific accidents - and eating their brains is frequently a traumatic experience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Brains of Others

**Author's Note:**

> The show Liv eating the various brains to be an almost comical thing sometimes .. I decided to explore what it must be like for Liv when she eats a 'bad' brain. Triggers for self-harm and past abuse.

  


  
gifset by [i-zombie](http://-izombie.tumblr.com/post/135397784163)  


*

No one knows more than Ravi, the toll being a zombie takes on Liv. The bodies of the people who come to the officer of the medical examiner are frequently victims of unspeakable crimes or horrific accidents - and eating their brains is frequently a traumatic experience.

The time Liv eats the body of the woman with early onset dementia, Ravi finds her sitting by the window staring blankly at her hands.

"Liv?"

"Do I know you?" she asks him wonderingly, her eyes clouded with confusion and fear. "I don't know where I am … my driver's licence says that my name is Liv Moore … " Her mouth trembles. "But I can't remember …"

Ravi sits next to her and holds her hand tightly in his. "Your name is Liv … you're a medical examiner like me …"

"Am I a zombie?" she asks him, looking very frightened. "I have strange images in my head … have I killed people?" Panic causes the pitch of her voice to sharpen.

"Yes but you're a good zombie," he tells her firmly. "You help people." 

He doesn't let her out of his sight until a new body has been brought in and he retrieves the brain himself.

*

The time Liv eats the brain of a child abuse victim, she hides in the storage cupboard and flatly refuses to come out. She's convinced that the monster is out there … that he's going to touch her again – that he's going to hurt her again.

Ravi sits on the ground beside the cupboard door and talks to her in a low and soothing voice ... comforting her with his voice … assuring her that the visions aren't real and that it's just the results of a brain that she's just eaten.

"But it was real, Ravi … I can see him …" she whispers and there are tears in her eyes.

"Then let's call Babineaux and bring this son of a bitch to justice!" Ravi tells her fiercely.

Eventually the door of the cupboard opens a sliver and Ravi sticks his hand into the darkness and smiles when he can feel Liv's hand clasp his.

*  
When Liv eats the brain of the latest John Doe, he turns out to be a refugee who has survived unspeakable torture. John Doe's PTSD renders Liv almost catatonic and Ravi has to carry her back to his house and watch over her until the effects of the brain wear off.

Liv can't sleep and she can't stop screaming and lies on the bed in a fetal position, tears pouring down her cheeks as she stares at him with terrified eyes. The only thing a helpless Ravi can do is lie beside her and hold her against him, crooning the words of a half-forgotten lullaby and telling her that everything is going to be all right … 

"Stop! Please stop!" she begs. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" she screams and her body goes rigid before slumping against him.

"You're safe," he promises her. "I won't let them hurt you."

She believes him and finally goes to sleep. Ravi can't sleep, though and stays awake, Liv's slight body in his arms as he stares up at the ceiling, frowning ferociously as he searches for a solution.

*

When she eats the brain of a murder suicide … it almost destroys her. They only find out after the fact that the depressed young woman killed her children and then took her own life … The police bring the bodies of the children into the morgue, triggering almost unbearable memories and Ravi holds a flailing, screaming Liv in his arms as she is almost overwhelmed by the guilt and remorse of the brain that she has just eaten.

"No, Liv – no – it wasn't you," he promises her.

"Oh God! I killed them … I killed them!" she sobs and the fierceness of her grief causes her body to seize up almost violently. "Let me die. Please," she begs and he removes anything sharp out of reach from her hands - no mean feat ...

This time, he's prepared and Ravi goes to the freezer and returns with a small piece of brain which he forces through her lips which are turning pale and blue.

"Open your mouth … eat this," he orders her and she looks at him dazedly but complies. She swallows. 

"What is it?" she asks him wonderingly, feeling the grief start to drain away and a strange measure of peace creep over her … 

"It's the brain of an 88 year old grandmother … she died peacefully … surrounded by her family and friends … she lived a good life and she was happy …" he tells her gently and sees her eyes change, become softer and calmer.

"Where did you – "

"After the PTSD brain you ate … I reached out to friends at the hospital and nursing homes … said I was doing a study into 'happy' brains … told them I needed samples of the brains of people who had died naturally … peacefully … to compare them to victims of crime …"

He opens the freezer and she stares in and sees small ziplock bags, each with small portions of brain in them, meticulously labelled. 

_75 year old woman. Died of natural causes. Happy life._

_28 year old woman. Died in boating accident while on honeymoon._

Liv's eyes widen. "Oh Ravi …"

"You're welcome. Not enough to appease the hunger, I know … but enough to take the edge off the worst of the brains that come in …"

"Thank you," she tells him and he hugs her and presses a kiss to the top of her head. 

"And when I find a cure, you won't need these anymore …"

She believes him … and it's not just because of the brain.


End file.
